The Inside Assyria Discussion Forum #5
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Tiglath
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Eight Americans killed in Afghan blast were CIA agents• US victims of suicide attack on base were all civilians • Four Canadian troops and a journalist also killed Daniel Nasaw in Washington, Vikram Dodd and agencies guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31 December 2009 02.48 GMT Eight American civilians who were killed in a suicide attack at a military base in eastern Afghanistan yesterday were CIA agents, US officials confirmed tonight. CIA officials in Washington were not immediately available for comment, and US officials said they could not provide details before the agents' families were informed. The attack occurred late yesterday inside Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province, eastern Afghanistan. The base has been used to house a provincial reconstruction team operating under Nato authority. "There was an explosion in Khost in eastern Afghanistan," a US military official in Kabul said. "There were no US or international security assistance force military members killed or injured in the explosion." Ian Kelly, a state department spokesman, said in a statement: "We mourn the loss of life in this attack, and are withholding further details pending notification of next of kin." CNN reported a bomber struck in a gym or dining facility at the base. Asked whether the suicide blast occurred inside the base, one official said: "That's my understanding." The attacker was wearing a suicide vest, a senior US official in Washington told Associated Press. Another senior US official in Washington said there were conflicting reports on the number of casualties, but that others were injured in the attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because not all details about the incident had been confirmed. A senior State Department official said all of the victims are civilians. But that could include military contractors and US intelligence officials. Wazir Pacha, a police spokesman in Khost province, said local people reported hearing a blast on the base. Soon afterward, two helicopters landed, a police officer in Khost said. Meanwhile, Nato said last night that four Canadian soldiers and a Canadian journalist travelling with them were killed by a roadside bomb in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan. The journalist was named as 34-year-old Michelle Lang, a reporter for the Calgary Herald. The day before, another Canadian soldier was killed by a homemade bomb in the province. The attacks rounded off a deadly year for US and Nato forces, by far the most deadly of eight years of war, with the number of US troops killed double last year's toll. This year 508 Nato troops were killed, up from 295 in 2008, according to iCasualties.org, which tracks deaths in Afghanistan. Barack Obama this month announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 troops, bringing the total number of US forces to about 100,000. He also pledged a significant increase in the number of US government civilians in training and economic development roles. Attacks in Afghanistan this year have risen to their highest levels since the Taliban were overthrown by US-backed Afghan forces in late 2001. Civilian and military casualty tolls have reached record levels this year, with suicide attackers targeting UN employees at a guesthouse in Kabul, killing five and wounding several others. Many civilians working outside Kabul have retreated into army bases as the security situation has deteriorated. Bases are fortified and require extensive security checks to enter. Foreign aid agencies warned earlier this year that the move into the military bases, and the use of military personnel to carry out development projects, risked a dangerous blurring of the boundaries between troops and civilians. Khost province, where the US base is located, is close to the Pakistani border and is a Taliban stronghold. In late September a suicide bomber crashed into a convoy of foreign military forces there, killing an American. In January, a suicide car bomb struck outside the gates of Forward Operating Base Chapman, killing one Afghan and wounding several others. --------------------- |
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